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Are you empathic?
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Please note that the memories and artwork contained herein are copyrighted 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
What is an Empath? An Empath is a person who can feel other peoples emotions. They can sense and feel them, which renders the individual capable of feeling empathy for another. I think almost everyone is a little empathic. If we weren’t then we would not be able to understand how another one feels when they fall and hurt themselves or lose a loved one. Sometimes empathy comes naturally while others have to learn it. It’s a good basic skill to have because it helps us get along with other people.
But what happens when your skills of empathy go beyond what normal everyday human interaction expects? Are there problems? Will I become like the character Deanna Troi on Star Trek? Can I find a place to train me like Cycore on Babylon 5? How do you know that you are empathic beyond normal human expectations?
I have started to attempt to answer some of these questions myself since I have realized recently that I am more than just a bit empathic. And it is the problems that I have had that is the reason why I have put this page up on this website. If I am having these problems, then others may also being having these problems too. So what are the problems that I have encountered……at first little things that are not so bad. For example, if I drive past a car accident, I will feel all the emotions that the people involved will feel including anyone who may have died. These strong emotions from an accident will make me cry. That’s not the end of the world, but it can be embarrassing if you have other people in the car with
you. They will want to ask if you knew someone in the accident and ask other questions like that because they want to understand why you are crying.
Another possible problem will be picking other peoples emotions when it is not expected. For example, your boss has just had an argument on the phone with his spouse, he has finished the phone call and has calmed down and has decided to get going with work to help him get his mind off of the argument. He walks over to you and asks you to do something. In a normal situation you would just think that he has asked you to do something, which is normal, but when you are empathic, you also feel his anger and upset from the phone call. This can be very confusing since you are not aware of the previous situation with the boss and his spouse. Unless you have the ability to know where the anger is directed, you will mistakenly think that he is angry with you. I have picked up on emotions on many many occasions and it can create strange situations. If you are close with the individual in question, then you can simply ask them, but it becomes more complicated in a work world where the cry of sexual harassment is lurking around every corner.
Probably the worst problem that can arise is something called mirroring. It is called mirroring because you “mirror” or reflect back the emotion that the other individual is experiencing. Have you ever had a situation where you find yourself unexpectedly angry, whining or complaining about something that you care virtually nothing about? You have walked away or driven home and you find yourself thinking, “Why was I so upset about that, it doesn’t even really matter to me?” You think back and the physical sensation of being upset was real, but the motive behind the emotion is completely lacking. This is mirroring. It can be the worst of problems with being empathic since it can make you behave in an irrational manner.
Those are just some of the problems associated with being empathic. They tend to occur if you are unable to block out other people’s emotions. They can also happen when you are exhausted and stressed out, which is what happened to me when I finally realized how empathic I am. I had a mirroring happen to me, and I am still not sure how to explain what happen to the other people involved. But the first step is realizing what caused the situation and discovering how to prevent it from occurring again. Which leads me to answer another question that is above, training? I have no idea if they are any places to find training that doesn’t involve crack pots. I have decided that I will probably have to train myself, but just as I said before, knowing what the problem is the first step in getting a handle on the situation. If you are really in need of finding someone to help you, I would probably start investigating into some of the eastern martial arts philosophies on
meditation.
So are you an Empath? You may or may not be, but figuring that out will help you understand some of the strange events that may happen in your life. It may also help you find a positive direction to take your skill.
Peace and Light be with you.
Rittmeister